Google is now allowing access to those bits of the Google app

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Alongside removing the launcher app,Google is now allowing access to those bits of the Google app through a new Search Launcher Services API.
The Google Now Launcher is a home screen manager that Google made using the Android launcher code as a base.
There is some indication that Google is pulling the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store sometime before the end of March 2017 (Q1).
That means apps and services that have elevated permissions and access to things apps from Google Play do not have.
That part of the Google Now Launcher is also part of the Google app.

As it stated in

Google Now Launcher to be removed from Google Play by end of March

Even without theGoogle Now Launcher, Google still has its own launcher of course, in the form of the Pixel Launcher that went live in October 2016 for its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.
The Google Now Launcher was officially launched in February 2014, so its removal from the Google Play Store will come about three years after its first appearance.
According to an email sent by the company to its Google Mobile Services (GMS) partners, it will remove the Google Now Launcher app from the Google Play Store sometime in the first quarter of 2017.
Soon, you will not be able to download the Google Now Launcher app.
The main reason for the change is that third-party Android devices can now integrate the Google Now panel on any launcher app, so there’s no need for Google to have a separate launcher of its own.

As it stated in

Google is removing Google Now Launcher from the Play Store

If you visit the Play Store you will find that Google Now Launcher sits alongside the Pixel Launcher.Google will remove the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store by the end of the first quarter of this year.
And through this mail, Google has started alerting Google Mobile Services (GSM) partners about the discontinuation of the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store in the coming days.
Google has announced that it is now discontinuing its Google Now Launcher app.
Google further adds that they will remove the Google Now Launcher from the GMS package beginning March 1.